Valerie has chosen 5 images for New Roots to profile over the month – one image per week.

Reflecting on the theme of Angels Valerie writes:
“I think it possible that angels really exist, as messengers of God. In any case they represent the moment when we feel touched by the transcendent and perhaps feel called to respond to God.

I have a print of Fra Angelico’s “Paradise” on my wall. It shows happy angels welcoming people into heaven and it was a great comfort to me at a time of sorrow and loss. Jesus tells us of the rejoicing among the angels over the conversion of a sinner so there is hope for us all!”

Valerie Dean came back to England, in the summer of 2007, after living for 27 years in Belgium. There, she studied art for six years and had various exhibitions, in and around Brussels. On returning to England, she became involved in the Kent arts scene and I exhibit, regularly, in the Francis Iles gallery, in Rochester. She has also taken part in the Canterbury Arts Festival and exhibitions in Whitstable.

Valerie works in acrylics and her technique is usually to put materials and colours on canvas or board, to see what emerges. She says: “It is a dialogue between me and my materials. Very often, people seem to want to appear in my paintings, a little like the pictures in the fire that I used to see in my childhood. At other times, I find that buildings and places I know inspire me.”